Former Guardsman claims self-defense in killing of his baby son's mother

John Chapman, 28, is charged with killing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, and dumping her body in a ditch west of Delray Beach in 2015. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty; his attorneys say it was self defense.

John Chapman, 28, is charged with killing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, and dumping her body in a ditch west of Delray Beach in 2015. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty; his attorneys say it was self defense.

John Eugene Chapman admits he stabbed his girlfriend 25 times in the neck, face and chest, and then tossed her and the knife out of her pickup truck in a West Delray ditch.

It’ll soon be up to a Palm Beach County jury to decide if the April 18, 2015 killing of Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, a mother of three from Margate, was murder — or an act of self-defense as Chapman claims.

Prosecutors say it was a heinous slaying that warrants the death penalty. Jury selection for Chapman’s trial began Thursday.

Marc Freeman / Staff

John Chapman, 28, awaits the start of jury selection Thursday Jan. 11, 2018, in his trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Chapman, who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, and dumping her to die in a west Delray ditch in April 2015.

John Chapman, 28, awaits the start of jury selection Thursday Jan. 11, 2018, in his trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Chapman, who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, and dumping her to die in a west Delray ditch in April 2015. (Marc Freeman / Staff)

The 28-year-old Chapman, who once served with the National Guard for a tour of duty in Iraq, told a detective his military training kicked in and he went into a “robotic mode” when he felt threatened by a knife-wielding Bristol.

“I snapped when she went for that knife and I hit her and I realized that … I was going to get stabbed,” Chapman explained, according to court records.

Assistant Public Defender Scott Pribble argues that Bristol shouldn’t be called a “victim” based on his client’s description of the violence when the couple fought after a night of drinking and drug use.

The argument — inside of a borrowed Ford F-150 — allegedly had to do with whether the woman would give Chapman a ride from Broward back to his home in Cape Coral on the west coast.

“There does not appear to be any evidence, physical or otherwise, that contradicts or calls into question Mr. Chapman’s account of defending himself from an armed attacker,” the attorney wrote, contending that Chapman’s use of deadly force was justified.

Marc Freeman / Staff

John Chapman, 28, speaks with Public Defender Carey Haughwout, before the start of jury selection Thursday Jan. 11, 2018, in his trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Chapman, who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, in 2015.

John Chapman, 28, speaks with Public Defender Carey Haughwout, before the start of jury selection Thursday Jan. 11, 2018, in his trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Chapman, who is accused of stabbing his girlfriend Vanessa Williams Bristol, 28, in 2015. (Marc Freeman / Staff)

To further make this point, the defense said there is evidence Bristol’s blood contained the designer drug flakka, which has been known to cause hallucinations and hostile aggression.

Assistant State Attorney Reid Scott says it was a “cold, calculated” intentional killing.

“The victim was still living at the time she was thrown from the vehicle and the defendant left her to die on the side of the road as he stole the vehicle and fled the scene,” the prosecutor wrote.

Bristol’s body was found the next day by a passer-by near the 14900 block of Smith Sundy Road, a remote area west of Delray Beach.

Investigators later learned that Margate Police had responded to a 911 call on April 16 at an apartment where Bristol was staying. That night, Chapman and Bristol had an argument about the parenting of her children, including a 1-year-old son the couple shared, records show.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

John Chapman, 28, is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death and leaving her body in West Delray.

John Chapman, 28, is accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death and leaving her body in West Delray.

(Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office)

Officers left after finding no signs of a struggle, and Chapman said he planned to return to his residence across the state.

But he said his girlfriend asked him to come back hours later. Two days later, they had the fight inside the pickup truck, which was found abandoned in Fort Lauderdale on April 21.

After he was arrested at a Miami apartment a week later, Chapman told a detective the stabbing happened near the entrance to the Palma Vista development in West Boca, according to an arrest report.

Chapman said he then decided to find a place to dispose of the body and the knife. Chapman’s lawyers eventually lost an attempt to keep the statement out of the trial.

Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath said the process of choosing a panel from a pool of 350 prospective jurors will run through most of next week. The trial, including a possible punishment phase if Chapman is found guilty, could last up to a month.